


Tessa Shepard's Whumpfactor

by ladyamesindy



Series: Commander Tessa Shepard [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:55:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26937004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyamesindy/pseuds/ladyamesindy
Summary: I have no idea what to call this or how to tag it.  I was asked if I was going to participate in Whumptober this year (a first for me) and after peeking through the list thought I could do some/most of them for Tessa.  These are the prompts as I can do them.Theresia - Tessa - Shepard   Earthborn/War Hero/Vanguardf!Shenko
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard
Series: Commander Tessa Shepard [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965532
Kudos: 3





	1. Let's Hang Out Sometime

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone interested, I will post some information regarding Tessa's background in a separate post. All pieces concerning her will fall under the Commander Tessa Shepard series.

“Hey, Skipper? Mind if I sit?”

Tessa sits staring into her mug, but sweeps her hand out in a welcoming gesture. 

Williams sits. She also has a steaming mug – dark and smells strongly of coffee; her stomach churns at the aroma. 

“You going to be okay?”

The question doesn’t surprise Shepard; the hint of actual concern in the Chief’s voice does. It’s enough to pull her attention upward. “What … do you mean?”

Williams shrugs and lifts her mug, blowing steam away as she tries to cool it. “That was kind of a rough mission,” she replies. “How’s Alenko?”

Shepard sighs and inclines her chin in the direction of the medbay. “Dr. Chakwas says he’ll be fine.” She actually said more than that, but Tessa’s still trying to parse it out in her head. 

A few minutes pass in silence; something Tessa doesn’t mind, though Williams fidgets. “Permission to speak freely, Chief,” she allows.

“Heh. Yeah. Well, okay.” She sips at her coffee again then continues, “You know, you kind of remind me of my sister.”

One eyebrow lifts. “Really? Which one?”

Chuckling, Williams rushes on, “Oh, they’re _all_ badasses, ma’am. I mean no disrespect on that account.”

Tessa hides a small laugh behind her mug as she drinks. 

“What I was trying to say is … you have a lot of pressure on you. Hunting Saren. The geth. Sovereign.” She sips again, winces as it burns. “I was just thinking … ought to make shore leave count, whenever we have it, right?”

Shepard nods but slowly. It wasn’t a bad idea, really.

“All I was going to say is, maybe we could hang out sometime.” She shrugs again. 

The coffee must fascinate her, Shepard decides, because she hides behind it too. That or …? She notices the flush in her cheeks, the way Williams refuses to look at her. Sort of the same sort of reactions she has when speaking to … Oh. _Oh!_ Pushing to her feet, suddenly engulfed by shock and surprise and a tidal wave of other feelings, Tessa stammers, “I’m … Sorry, Chief, I - I can’t.” She grabs her mug to take with her and starts in the direction of the medbay. It’s the closest place she can hide and recover herself. 

Slipping through the doors, she doesn’t look back once. She likes Williams, even considers her a friend, but … Standing just inside the doorway, she leans against the wall, her eyes slamming shut. Breathing is difficult, and she spends a good handful of minutes trying to bring it back under control. Dammit, why? Why now? …

“Commander?”

The warm baritone at her side focused on her, filled with concern, has her eyes shooting open. “L-lieutenant?” She blinks at him. “I … thought you were indisposed?”

He smiles, but there is a hint of pain still in his eyes. “Managing,” he replies.

“Ah. I …” Her breath catches, her gaze drops to eye level which brings them level with his broad … muscular … chest … Her voice is a barely audible choked whisper. “I … should go.” 

She ducks out of the medbay and takes the long way around the elevator to get to her cabin where she hurries inside and secures the door. She turns all lights out and makes her way over to the bed where sets her tea aside, climbs in and curls up, arms wrapped tightly around the spare pillow …


	2. In the Hands of the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober prompt: In the hands of the enemy

“Commander, behind you!” Alenko’s shout of warning echoes across the mine. 

Tessa reacts instantly. With no sound, no open fear, she lurches forward, drops to roll across the ground, her pistol secure in both hands and ready to aim when she regains her feet. 

But she only makes two-and-a-half rolls instead of the planned three, and comes to an abrupt stop when she hits something solid. Something unexpected that wasn’t in her path when she started. Half on her back, something grabs tight around her hair and yanks her upward. His hand twists mercilessly, pulls tight. 

Adrenaline races through her. Eyes wide, desperation taking over, she reaches for whatever has her. And yet, she remains silent.

A low, rumbling voice chuckles in her ear. “Thought you could take me down, did you?”

_Me_. Tessa’s breath is nothing but a labored rasp at this point. She manages to hold onto her pistol with one hand, but the other flails at the merc holding her. _Gods damn Helena Blake anyway!_ she thinks. _And gods damn myself for agreeing to do this for her!_

Tears form in her eyes – uncontrollable from her end, the body’s natural way of dealing with pain. The man is taller than her, most are, and he seems to take great joy in raising her just enough off of her feet to leave her dangling before lowering her back to the ground for a few seconds. 

Though the world around her is a haze of pain, she notices the rhythm to it. The pattern. In the distance, she hears weapons – Alenko, Vakarian and Wrex must still be free – and she pushes the sound away to focus on her own predicament as much as she can. 

“Commander!”

Vakarian this time; and she knows why. They have a code; she taps the morse for OK on her comms when they get separated, when they’re uncertain of her status. Not the best method to keep in touch, but it works, especially for her situation. Right now, however, she cannot reach her comms and the channel remains silent.

The crime boss leans in toward her, over her shoulder, breathing heavily in her ear, threatening, “I’m going to enjoy this!” His free hand rises, his weapon aimed at her.

_Three … two … one …_

He lifts her off her feet as he did before. This time, she kicks her legs straight back. She knows she connects; her boot hits something solid that gives and suddenly she is on the ground. Scrambling out of his reach, she spins around, pistol pointed at his head. From this range, she cannot miss. One lone round through the forehead, a single shot that reverberates through the mine. She flinches automatically, but keeps her eyes upon him as he sinks to the ground.

Breathing heavily, hands shaking, she takes stock of the situation. The mine is eerily silent now. She sees no one, though she is aware she is separated from the rest of the mine by a stash of storage crates. Lifting a hand, she taps out the code: **\- - - - . -**

Nothing. Silence. Until heavy booted footsteps approach. Unwilling to risk it, she scurries to wedge between a stack of crates. It isn’t much in the way of cover, but it should buy her a few seconds. 

…

“Commander?”

Tessa sighs in relief and pushes out of the crack. “Alenko.” Never before has his voice sounded so … well, beautiful. Reassuring. “I’m fine, LT. Where are Wrex and Vakarian?”

There is concern on his face as he approaches. “They are securing the way back,” he explains. Halting next to her, he reaches a hand toward her right temple. “You’re bleeding.”

Startled, she swipes her hand to the spot before he can stop her. When she lowers it, she notices the blood. Not much, but enough. Must’ve come from her hair when he yanked her up to her feet. “I’m fine,” she tells him, waving off his medical scan and walking in the direction of the mine entrance. “Come on.” When he hesitates, she turns to look back. “It’s nothing, LT. If you want, I will let Dr. Chakwas treat it when we’re back on the _Normandy_ …”


End file.
